The field of the present disclosure relates generally to aircraft assemblies and, more specifically, to decompression panels for use in aircraft assemblies.
At least some known aircraft include several openings defined between a passenger compartment and adjacent compartments of an aircraft cabin. Such known openings serve a dual purpose. During normal operation, the openings define an air flow path that enables conditioned air to be circulated through the aircraft cabin. During a decompression event, the openings allow large quantities of air to flow therethrough to facilitate equalizing the pressure within the aircraft cabin.
In at least some known aircraft, the openings are covered with a panel including a grille and/or louvers, and a baffle is positioned behind the panel to facilitate reducing noise caused by the air flowing therethrough. The grille and/or louvers are generally designed to allow the passage of air through the openings while restricting the passage of debris and other foreign material therethrough. However, a grille and/or louvers assembly is generally fabricated from materials that facilitate increasing the weight of the aircraft, is difficult to clean, and has a configuration that facilitates limiting the size of noise-reducing baffles that may be installed behind the panel. Moreover, a grille and/or louvers assembly may be aesthetically unpleasant to passengers seated in the aircraft cabin.